Veggie Reubens

A reader recently wrote to SAM, the Journal's Straight Answer Ma'am, to ask whether there is really such a thing as a Reuben sandwich without meat. Well, in a world with room for vegetarian haggis and caviar, a vegetarian or vegan Reuben is hardly a stretch. I don’t want to repeat SAM’s answer, which you can read here, but did think it might be a nice time to write about where around town you can get a veggie Reuben.

Mary's of Course, which offers a lot of choices for vegetarians, serves a tempeh Reuben "grilled with Swiss cheese, topped with sauerkraut & Russian dressing on grilled rye bread."

West End Cafe and its sister restaurant Cat's Corner - also extremely friendly places for vegetarians - both serve veggie Reubens that feature grilled mushrooms instead of meat.

Finnigan's Wake, which offers vegetarian versions of many of its menu items, serves a vegetarian Reuben. Finnigan’s uses faux meats to replace the meat in most of its vegetarian dishes, and that is the case with the Reuben as well. I haven't found a Web site for Finnigan's, but its phone number is 723-0322.

A fine variation on the Reuben theme is the Skippy's Hot Dogs Reuben dog – served on a pretzel bun, with sauerkraut and spicy mustard. Skippy's offers Morningstar Farms veggie dogs, so you can get a vegetarian version with no problem.

Unfortunately, I don’t know of any restaurants that serve a vegan Reuben. So for vegans, the best place for a Reuben may be in your own home. As I mentioned to SAM, my favorite recipe is Isa Chandra Moskowitz’ Tempeh Reubens from Vegan With a Vengeance. Unfortunately, it’s not posted on her Web site, but it's still worth surfing on over to see what is there.

Do you know any other good places for a veggie Reuben around here?